JOURNAL

Young designers and sustainable labels – A fashion tour of Bikini Berlin

If you’re familiar with my blog, you’ll know that I love discovering new, up-and-coming labels and sustainable brands and sharing them with my readers. Bikini Berlin’s Studio183 and LNFA stores are the perfect places to do my research. I took a look around these two concept boutiques for you, picking out my fashionable favourites and chatting to their founders to find out more.

Exciting and elegant at Studio183

Studio183 originally started out as a pop-up store, but has now become a firm fixture of Bikini Berlin. Unlike in other boutiques, here both young and established designers are given their own rail. And hanging above each one is sign showing the name of the label and a short information text. This gives the labels a fantastic opportunity to present their collections to a wide and varied audience in the best company alongside other aspiring creatives.

Katrina, the founder of Concept Gallery, explained the concept to me: “We rent out garment rails to a lot of partners on a long-term basis. But some designs are only presented at our showroom for a certain period of time. This makes Studio183 the perfect platform on which to test, for example, how first collections are received by customers. This is a one-off opportunity, particularly for international designers who are trying to establish themselves in Germany.”

Many labels meanwhile approach Katrina directly. But to find new faces she also does her own research at ateliers, design markets and small boutiques. She also uses Instagram to present a wide, exciting portfolio of fashion, jewellery and homeware to her customers.

Of course I jumped at the opportunity to try on a few outfits and discovered my new favourite look: a pair of wide trousers and a top by sustainable zero-waste label Farrah Floyd. The soft fabric and loose, yet extravagant tailoring make this a perfect outfit for my next Fashion Week!

New-look LNFA

And just a few steps away, I move on to my second stop: the creative design platform LNFA. Ever since Bikini Berlin opened, the store has been an integral part of the mall. Since relocating to new premises within the concept mall, it is now all shiny and new – in the truest sense of the word! At the light and bright premises, between rows and rows of clothing rails, I am welcomed by Sevil, the founder of LNFA, in a small, bright seating corner made up of old wooden pallets.

LNFA offers its customers a varied curated, international selection of exciting creations, also sorted by designer. “We’re always in close contact with our customers, which enables us to filter out the style directions that are currently on trend. We started out with a very avantgarde style but our store meanwhile has more of a Nordic vibe coming from Denmark, Estonia and Finland. And due to the high demand, we are focusing more on Scandinavian influences.”

Colourful eyecatchers are a must in any fashion store. While browsing, I come across some really out-there designs by Cool Shit from Spain (which, by the way, is otherwise only sold at Colette in Paris) and Breaking Rocks from Holland. As an advocate of fair fashion, I quickly find some great pieces, such as by the sustainable fashion company Luxaa from Leipzig. And August from Estonia, a label that I hadn’t heard of before, works with ecological materials such as bamboo silk.

The boutique now also has a second-hand area, also a response to the many requests from customers. Here you’ll find everything that your vintage heart desires and pieces that have what it takes to become real favourites, in keeping with LNFA’s motto – “We have a favourite item for everyone!”

You will find these two curated stores on the first floor of Bikini Berlin and, in addition to their offer of fashion, jewellery and interior items, they both also regularly organise public events and workshops.